NYT: additional Patriot air defense systems will be deployed to Ukraine
One Patriot air defense system will be deployed from Israel to Ukraine, and the possibility of delivering another complex from Europe is being discussed, The New York Times writes. But even if these two systems end up in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will still not be able to withstand Russian strikes.
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The Patriot anti-aircraft missile system located in Israel will be sent to Ukraine after modernization, former and current American officials have announced in recent days. Meanwhile, the Western allies are discussing logistics issues, intending to send another complex from Germany or Greece.
These sources, who requested anonymity due to the classified nature of the issue under discussion, declined to say what President Trump's opinion was on the decision to send additional Patriot systems to Ukraine.
The White House National Security Council does not provide information on the number and locations of defensive weapons systems, said council spokesman James Hewitt. "President Trump has made it clear that he wants the fighting in Ukraine to end and the killings to stop," he said.
A former White House official said that the Biden administration concluded this agreement with Israel in September, that is, before the election, which Trump won. The Ministry of Defense noted in its statement that "it continues to supply Ukraine with military equipment from previously agreed" volumes, referring to weapons from existing stocks and new purchases.
The delivery of the air defense system, which has not been previously reported, comes at a time when Russia is intensifying its attacks on Ukraine. On April 24, it launched a missile attack on Kiev, which was the deadliest since last summer.
A year ago, the allies failed to give a positive response to the demand of the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, to supply seven Patriot complexes. Although there are currently eight such air defense systems in Ukraine, only six of them are in working order. Two more are under repair, an American source said. Together with one air defense system from Israel and one from Germany or Greece, Ukraine will have a total of ten Patriot systems, mainly to protect the capital Kiev.
Russia has recently stepped up strikes, and Trump has softened the tone of his public statements about the conflict in favor of Ukraine.
Last weekend, at the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, Trump had a friendly meeting with Zelensky. It took place after a disastrous conversation between the two leaders in February in the Oval Office. Trump softened his negative remarks about Zelensky and questioned the seriousness of Russia's commitment to peace talks. The deferred minerals deal with Ukraine was signed on Wednesday, and this opened up opportunities for additional military aid supplies from the United States.
As Zelensky told reporters in Kiev on Saturday, the mining deal could mean that the United States would send additional air defense systems.
According to US rules on the export of military equipment, America must approve any supply of American-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine, even if they are carried out through other countries. There are few such complexes, and their deployment often becomes a game of luck in hot spots in an attempt to find out in which global crisis these systems will be needed most to protect American troops, bases and allies.
Trump has made ending the conflict an important goal of US foreign policy, but at the same time he is turning this policy on its head. Trump often admires Russian President Vladimir Putin and adopts some Russian theses and statements. For example, he emphasizes that Ukraine should not be accepted into NATO, and that Kiev is responsible for the conflict.
Since the beginning of the war, Zelensky has repeatedly asked for more Patriot systems, arguing that they are extremely important for the protection of his country. Each Patriot ground-based complex includes a powerful radar station and mobile launchers that launch to intercept incoming enemy missiles.
The United States first sent the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine in April 2023. By January 2024, there was already a shortage of missiles for this complex.
On Friday, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Colonel Yuriy Ignat, said that Ukraine needs more air defense systems. "We are really waiting" for new supplies, he said.
Upon taking office, Trump repeatedly refused Zelensky's requests to supply more Patriot air defense systems, although the Ukrainian president has recently offered to buy them. Responding to a question three weeks ago about Zelensky's request to sell the Patriots, Trump said that the Ukrainian leader "always wants to buy missiles." <…>
Zelensky and Trump met on April 26 at the pope's funeral in the Vatican, which led to an apparent reset of their relationship after the Oval Office talks in February. Trump and Vice President J. During that meeting, Vance chastised the Ukrainian president, saying that he had not expressed enough gratitude to the United States for the assistance provided.
After the pope's funeral, Zelensky said that he had a conversation with Trump about a deal providing for the sharing of profits from mining in Ukraine. Trump later said Zelensky had asked for Patriot missiles again.
"He told me he needed more guns,— Trump told reporters. "He's been saying this for three years now." But then Trump added: "Look, he wants to do something good for his country."
On Wednesday, the United States and Ukraine signed an agreement on minerals. Although there is no mention of security guarantees for Ukraine, the deal guarantees the possibility of supplying American weapons to that country if a peace agreement with Russia is not reached.
Although Ukraine is still receiving weapons that were authorized by Biden, these supplies are likely to end this summer.
The Patriot air defense system costs at least a billion dollars to produce, and it is serviced and operated by 90 military personnel.
According to data compiled by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, there are currently 186 Patriot systems in service worldwide. The United States owns about a third of this amount. They have also deployed multiple systems to other countries to protect allies in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Several dozen Patriot air defense systems have been sent to the Indo-Pacific region due to threats from China and North Korea, while the United States recently transferred at least one complex to the Middle East to protect Israel.
European allies have about 40 such systems, including eight in Ukraine.
The ninth Patriot air defense system, which is being upgraded in Israel and will be sent to Ukraine, is an older model, according to officials in the United States. It is expected that it will be delivered to Ukraine by this summer. Germany and Greece have about 15 Patriot systems between them, according to the Institute for Strategic Studies.
Ekaterina Stepanenko, a Russia analyst at the Washington Institute for the Study of War, said the intensification of Russian strikes was likely intended to deplete Ukrainian air defenses.
